A Little Too Late

School was utter Hell, as it always was. Jaycee couldn't wait to leave, even if she did have to go back to her group home afterwards. At least there she could shut herself in her shared room and go through her mother's things while she listened to Metallica or Iron Maiden. It was the kind of music that she grew up on, and hardly ever strayed from.

All her life she grew up fairly poor. Her grandparents disowning her before she was born, simply because she was born out of wedlock. Her mom struggled at sixteen to raise a kid and go to work. She had dropped out and moved to San Diego to live with an estranged aunt, even that didn't last long. They never had access to the internet except for the library, which the workers there didn't care for as Jaycee and her mom didn't have library cards.

The brunette early tapped her fingers on her desk to a Rob Zombie song that had been stuck in her head all period long. She was full of nervousness that she would get a letter back in the mail. A month had gone by after her mother died before she sent it, ridden with anxiety about the situation. She had gone sixteen years without a father, and now she had open herself up to actual rejection from the man himself. If he did, then she would live with it. It would be only two more years in the group home before she could go make a name for herself elsewhere.

Once the final bell rang, Jaycee grabbed her things and bolted from the classroom. She only stopped at her locker to grab her headphones for the walk home. Being sixteen in a group home, she knew that she wasn't ever going to be adopted. Not when people were looking for babies and children in better foster homes. Which, she understood since not even her own grandparents would take her in.

When she was first put into the system, they tried to track down her father. But, James Sullivan seemed to be more common than she had thought. Nobody had an address for him, except her mother. Granted, it was an old one, and it was most likely his parents house if they even still lived there. It was crazy to think that if the person she wrote to was actually her dad, then he was only a few hours away.

Walking into the group home, Patty, one of the volunteers, handed Jaycee her mail. Her heart dropped to her stomach as she saw chicken scratched handwriting stamped with a p.o. box address. The addresee read his name, and she was suddenly scared to open it. Maybe he would just tell her to leave her alone.

Slowly, she went up to her room and shut the door, plopping down on the small twin bed. She gently ripped the envelope, pulling out a note that had been written on notebook paper.

Jaycee,

If telling me that your mom is dead and that you're my kid isn't a bombshell, then I don't know what would be. It's definitely a hard pill to swallow. Seeing my name on someone's birth certificate is shocking, especially a notorized one.

If I'm being honest, I don't know what to say. Yes, I dated your mother when we were in highschool. She left so suddenly, and I didn't even get a goodbye. I guess that makes sense now. I'm sorry to hear about her passing. How did it happen? If you don't mind me asking.

Part of me, the smart part, is telling me not to write back. That you want to get me for my money's worth and run off. But, the adventurous part is telling me to get to know you. So do you live with your grandparents now? How are they doing?

Anway, I need to get going for work. I hope to hear from you soon.

-Jimmy

Relief filled Jaycee as she read the letter. He was giving her a chance, one that she didn't even know she wanted. With a small smile, she pulled out her notebook and began writing another letter.

Notes